Taken off this website wrote:All the major restcamps have electricity, a first-aid centre, a shop, braai and communal kitchen facilities, a laundromat/laundry tubs, a restaurant and/or self-service cafeteria, public telephones and a petrol station. Information centres manned by information staff are at Letaba, Skukuza and Berg-en-Dal. Holiday programmes and evening film shows of wildlife and conservation are arranged in many of the restcamps. Please enquire at reception.

Diesel engines are completely opposite - they don't like speed they like to lug (pull hard) .
In the KNP I don't use the accelerator pedal at all , idle speed has enough torque to pull in any gear . So you let the clutch out (slowly) in 1st gear for about 8km/h . You can shift up to 2nd and then 3rd as required . 3rd gear does about 22 km/h and doesn't feel inclines or corrugations .
It's actualy a wierd feeling at first but it works because the injector pump senses any drop below idle speed and compensates instantaneously .
Consumption average is about 25 km/l (4 l/100km) like this , I bull.... you not including stopping time with idling engine , but I like to switch off engine , to let the outside sounds in , asap .

A landcruiser diesel bakkie can pull a 2 ton skiboat up out of the sea in thick sand using this exact technique - idle speed and slow release of clutch only . When petrolheads see this they can't comprehend . they are used to reving up and dropping clutches which results in all the torque being spilled on wheelspin .

In the Landy (5 cylinder diesel), I take my foot of the pedal and cruise in 2nd at about 10 km/h and in 3rd at about 18 km/h. Very low fuel consumptions nice at viewing speeds. The problem is LBJs in bushes that cause frequent stops, reverses etc.

Marli wrote:Can someone please tell me , why you never see SASOL Petrol in the Kruger Park? Sasol contribute a lot of money to bird books and shelters. Every January 05 they have that bird weekend in the Kruger. Why will the Kruger park not assisst them by having some Sasol petrol in the petrol stations? Last year I went in on the Sasol website and ask them, never came back to me. I am sure that Sasol is also enviromental save to us...

Good question Marli, I can't recall anything that Total is sponsoring in Kruger. Maybe KNPSM have an answer for us.

I do remember in days gone by, the 80's I think, that Total did have a wildlife sponsorship thing going. Don't know if that is still the case though. Remember that your rubbish bag you got at the entrance gate was sponsored and printed by them.
I could of course be fantasising about this and be completely wrong Age is catching up with me, you know.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.Albert Einstein

"Regarding the SANParks/Total fuel tender:* It is according to the contract that was first signed in 1958;* The contract runs for 10 years. The current one runs from 2001 until 2011;* It involves every park (not just Kruger!) and there are 32 petrol stations at various camps across the country;* The original contract included the construction of a new camp on the Olifants River. Up until then, the camp that is now called Balule was called Olifants. The contract also includes funding to print the entrance permits, a certain amount of paper litter bags that are distributed to people entering the gates and various other commitments;* The present contract stipulates that all the petrol stations have to comply with all environmental laws. This is why a number have received face-lifts and others (eg Lower Sabie) have been rebuilt totally;* Every now and then, various companies do approach KNP (or visa versa) with various ideas of sponsorship. As a result of this, facilities are built, for example, Sappi recently sponsored the Sable Dam Hide."

[quote]November 21, 2003

JOINT MEDIA STATEMENT FROMTOTAL SA AND SANPARKS

For immediate release SANPARKS AWARDS FUEL

TENDER TO TOTAL SA

TOTAL South Africa has once again been awarded the main fuels and lubricants contract for all the National Parks in South Africa. TOTAL has been successful in tendering for the SANParks contract since 1958.

The contract was officially signed between TOTAL and SANParks on November 21, 2003 at Skukuza camp in the Kruger National Park. TOTAL will not only supply the main fuels and lubricants for use by SANParks in all of its parks in South Africa, but also fuel and lubricants for resale at the some 32 service stations operated by SANParks throughout the country.

The current contract will run until the year 2011. During 1958, two years after TOTAL South Africa started marketing petroleum products in South Africa, it successfully tendered for the national Parks contract against all the major oil companies in the country. At the time TOTAL was given no chance of winning the contract because of its size.

Much to the amazement and distress of the other major oil companies, TOTAL was awarded the contract to supply all National Parks on January 1, 1959, and has been successful in retaining it since that date. With the current contract having been awarded for a ten-year period until 2011, it will mean that TOTAL would have supplied SANParks with its petroleum needs for more than 50 years.

SANParks administer and manage 22 national parks throughout the country. Of the 32 TOTAL service stations operated by SANParks, 12 are situated in the Kruger National Park.

Speaking at the signing of the new contract, Didier Harel, Managing Director and CEO of TOTAL said that the company was very proud and jealous of its long-standing association with the SANParks. "We at TOTAL believe that we have not only made a major contribution to the success and growth of SANParks efforts to ensure that our very precious and unique flora and fauna are conserved and managed effectively, but have also taken an active role in some of the projects undertaken by SANParks.

"TOTAL's involvement in and concern for nature conservation has been one of the pillars on which the company has been able to grow and become a major player in the oil industry in South Africa", Harel said. He expressed the hope that the association between the SANParks and TOTAL would be able to continue far beyond 2011 when the current contract comes to an end.

In his speech, SANParks CE Mr Mabunda said that the agreement between Total SA and SANParks was a classic example of how good relations can be between two companies, 50 years of business marriage is not child's play. If this current relationship is anything to go by, therefore there is no reason to believe that this relationship cannot improve even more as the years go by.

I'll back Madach on VW TDi's and diesels in general at slow , lugging speeds . I get the same consumption , so for a days driving (breaks for lunch etc.) I use about 8 to 10 liters which is peanuts .

At idle speed there is enough torque (pulling ability) to drive in 3rd gear on gravel and 4th on tar and your foot is free like a speed control . Your speed is about 10 km/hr less than the speed limit but ideal for looking about .
When cruising back to camp during the hot hours of the day use 5th or 6th gear at 1200 to 1400 rpm for astounding low consumption .
Gravel roads in general consume about an extra liter of fuel per 100 km due to extra resistance from corrugations etc. but the tar surfaces improve the average .

I work out the costs of each trip , and in general , fuel including the trip in and out is about 20% , food and BEVERAGES 30% , but the big item is accomodation at 50% .

mikev wrote:Yes , a petrol engine will often use more fuel a low speed with many stops etc . The main reason is that the torque only comes in from medium r.p.m.

Yes. Typical 8-valve 1.6i should produce peak torque at between 3 and 4-thousand rpm, to cruise around the park at that sort of engine speed would be annoying. 16-valvers are even higher, most in the low 4-thousands.

As engine cap increases, the peak torque engine speed tends to drop, a 3-litre V6 should have peak torque in the low 3-thousands.

Some of the modern petrol engines have variable valve timing to overcome this but only partialy .

Variable valve timing is primarily used to extend the intake stroke, and delay ignition for as long as possible, allowing the engine to rev higher, for performance purposes. The trade-off, ironically, is that they have very poor torque at low rpm.

The winner for low-down torque is the forced induction engine (turbo- or supercharged), where peak torque is normally a flat curve from around 2 x idling speed, up to 4-thousand rpm-ish, and 80% of peak torque is available at idle. Their drawback is that they run out of puff past 5-thousand rpm, but clearly that's an issue of concern on the main road, not the park.

(Sorry for hijacking petrol thread with engine tech stuff!)

Last trip: New Years in Skuks and SataraNext: ....................................................

Seeing there seems to be conflicting info as to the availability of 50ppm diesel I would like to point out that utilising 500ppm diesel in modern common rail diesel engines for limited periods will not adversely affect the motor or diesel injectors in the short term provided the diesel is of a good quality - and that is assuming that the KNP suppliers are reliable .The use of 50ppm diesel has for a number of years been recommended by all manufacturers of common rail diesel engines as it is thought that it promotes longer engine life , and I do not recall that 50ppm was available in KNP a year or 2 ago - in fact it is not available in most of the northern Cape province and most rural areas and small towns in SA - thus can be deduced that manufacturers would certainly not market their cars in these areas had the occasional use of 500ppm been detrimental .

KNP is sacred.I am opposed to the modernisation of Kruger and from the depths of my soul long for the Kruger of yesteryear! 1000+km on foot in KNP incl 56 wild trails.200+ nights in the wildernessndloti-indigenous name for serval.